Restore the Jewish Glory – Part 3

I’m going to look at the question – What makes Jews special people?

First, I’ll read a verse, from which I’m going to draw some special, Biblical attributes attributed to the Jewish people.

‘’And now, if you will hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you will be to me a special people of all the nations, for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation; these are the words that you shall say to the children of Israel.‘’ [Exodus 19:5-6]

Here are the topics I’ve derived from Exodus 19: 5-6:

Am Segula. This Hebrew phrase is important. It describes a person who is chosen and special, but not necessarily understood. The qualities of being chosen and special are beyond our comprehension.

So, this Am Segula, this special nation of the Jewish people is unique because we have an inherent, spiritual capability within each of us. We have a hidden power of survival, self-sacrifice, healing, invincibility and durability inside us. We are a nation with the ability to embrace paradox, to embrace two contradictory arguments and bring them into a whole.

We are a nation with a very special destiny, a glorious destiny. And we have a super-consciousness which is also unique. Though we may not consciously know something, super-consciously, we do know certain things.

Here’s a meditation about being part of a unique and special nation:

Experience the feeling of being part of a nation that is unique and special… Get in touch with the feeling that your destiny is unique and special—something you may not comprehend , but something you just know… Get in touch with the power of Segula—the power of being able to walk through doors and accomplish things, not necessarily because you deserve it, but rather because you are special… feel the responsibility of having a special destiny … feel the responsibility for the entire world somehow on your shoulders… feel how the world was created just for you, and therefore you need to see to it that all goes well and smooth in the world, that all that you hear and see about your people and about the world is a personal calling for you to pray and act and do what you can to help out the situation… be humble in your role and in your destiny knowing that it’s all a gift and a beckoning from the One Above…

These are the elements of being a Holy Nation:

We are connected to G-d. We are called Yehudi, which is the Hebrew word for Judah, or Judean. It’s one of the tribes of Israel, the central and ruling tribe of Israel. The name of the tribe spells the four-letter name of G-d. So, we’re all about being G-d-connected, all the time.

We’re all about having our will connected to G-d’s will. If you dig down into the will of a Jewish person you’ll find a will that’s connected to G-d’s. We want to do G-d’s will. Sometimes there are a lot of layers blocking it from our awareness, but if you dig down deep enough you’ll actually find them and even put them to the test.

Down deep, we know it’s not about us, it’s about G-d. It’s about our deepest ratzon, our will, to do what G-d wants us to do.

Here’s a meditation about being a Holy Nation:

Experience the feeling of being part of a nation that is unique, special and different from all other nations… Experience being a member of a nation that is referred to as the The Holy Nation… Experience underneath all the confusion and other forms of spiritual blockage, your primal motivation to be connected with Hashem… Experience that all that you really will is actually Hashem’s Will… Experience the certainty that all that you engage in, and every effort that you make to control and influence your fate in life is actually Hashem working through you and activating you in order to carry out whatever he wants to carry out –through you.

And finally, we are a kingdom of priests. What does that mean?

It means to testify and to be witnesses to the fact that G-d is running the world. One of the verses in prophecy mentions that G-d calls his witnesses, testifying of his presence in the world.

It means we are servants, like priests are service-oriented people. We are here to serve G-d, and like a priest, to serve other people as well.

It means we are teachers, because priests are people who teach. They teach by example, but they also teach G-d’s will in the world.

Here’s a meditation about being a nation of priests:

Experience the feeling of being part of a nation of priests… feel the awesome responsibility of being the one who gives testimony to the world that G-d exists—that there is in fact nothing more important than G-d—that there is essentially nothing else but G-d… fill yourself up with this role and with the responsibility that it carries to enable others to be connected to G-d, to know G-d, to follow G-d’s ways and will, to reveal G-d where He is normally not found, to teach others how to do all this, how to live this… feel the pleasure and awe in opening up this reality for one other person and for more than one person, and for all of humanity… Feel the awe of the responsibility of your actions—feel that you don’t only represent yourself, but you represent G-d to all whom you encounter—and how being a representative of G-d lifts you up to act in a higher and more serious and passionate manner…